Search This Blog

Let me explain this

I get grief from people (both to my face and via other people) about my receiving unemployment compensation. Believe me, as a conservative (well, really a Libertarian, but I refuse to give up my opportunity to vote in the primary, so I have remained a registered Republican), taking this money is not an easy thing for me to do. So let me explain myself for those of you who are wondering or those who may have forgotten my story.

I worked at the same company, loyally, for 13 years. The company paid into unemployment on my behalf for those 13 years. I did not ask to be laid off. I was not one of those people, some of whom are still there, who complained relentlessly about everything that went on and how they could not wait to find another job. I was not one of those people who actually tried to get another job but decided they had it better where they were. This is not to say I never had a negative thing to say. But I realized quite some time ago how good I had it.

I have applied to numerous jobs and companies/organizations as well as kept in touch with a number of contacts over the last year. I could probably open up my Excel file and tell you how many, but then I would probably just get mad upon reading my notes, which typically can be summarized like this: "Emailed X. No response. Left X a VMM. Still have not heard back" or like this: "Emailed Y, who said she would get back to me tomorrow. Emailed Y again one week later when did not hear back. Never heard back."

When I did not find a job after several months, to broaden my opportunities, I took two classes that reactivated my teaching certification. If I really wanted to sit around and endlessly collect money for doing nothing, do you think I would have done that? If so, please see my next point.

I substitute teach whenever I can. That means every single time the school calls me. Last week I even subbed for the secretary, which was quite an interesting day, let me tell you (another time). I unsuccessfully tried to get on another sub list, which I wrote about before (it was kind of like my summary quotes above, times three). Admittedly, I have not gotten on a sub list for the two public schools near me, but when those school districts rank in the bottom academically and police are called pretty much daily, well, hopefully you can understand my hesitation that sets in before you factor in the child care needed.

I realized today that I actually make more on one week of unemployment than I can subbing one week. Despite the fact that subbing is a lot of challenges for not a lot of money, I welcome it because I am grateful for the work; I really, truly care about the students; and I am happy to be taking less unemployment money whenever I do sub more than two days per weeks. Sure, I could turn down the additional sub days to avoid this (who would know), but I am too ethical for that. Just as I was sure to turn in a freelance project to unemployment, even though unemployment would never have found out about it. I cannot go on subbing forever, but if you ask most teachers in the school, they will tell you how grateful they are to have me around, what a great job I do, etc. What a benefit this ends up being for the students.

I know people who cheat, in one form or another, on their taxes. Maybe they are not claiming something. Or they are doing work "under the table." Ironically, someone who fits that bill actually had the nerve (IMO) to criticize my being on unemployment, saying I should not keep taking this money. But I guess it is okay if they don't give money to the government?

Every time I sub, I am paying taxes on various levels, don't you worry. I am even paying unemployment taxes! And federal tax comes out of my unemployment compensation as well. It is not as if I am not contributing to the coffers.

Which brings me to my last point. I have continued to pay my mortgage, my household bills, and a car payment. No one is stuck because of me. I still give a little to church and an occasional "good" cause. And I pump some money into the economy by my grocery shopping, gas pumping, and occasional other purchases. The window company is probably thankful for me, which I paid for via our tax refund (which was money Bri and I paid to the government) and money we had in savings before I was ever laid off.

All of the above is not to say I am an ideal citizen. I have to think if I were a true conservative, by now I would have gotten off unemployment and found some other way to make it all work. Don't you think? But I would hope most of you can understand why I am not ready to do that just yet. If you have read any of my posts over the last year, you probably have a good idea why. I hate taking this money; I really do. But I also hate that I seemed to be close to having a couple of jobs (including freelance and direct-hire) and they did not pan out. This is just why I am where I am now. Like it or not. Right or wrong.

Comments

Anonymous said…

Facie-I don't associate myself with one party or another, so I am not sure if it is a conservative vs. liberal thing. I would think more that those who work think those that take money and don't work are moochers. But probably those on welfare wonder why anyone would work when they don't have to. Not saying everyone is like this. I dunno... At least you are working when you can. It does suck that you are better off not working, moneywise. But if you have not turned down a job then what's the big deal. But school will be out soon, so then what? Good luck. I know it is rough out there or else why would unemployment be so high and people have such troubles getting a job.

I don't have a problem AT ALL with government helping out when people are in trouble. That's why there's unemployment comp in the first place. It's not like you've been a habitual slacker your whole life and expect to be taken care of it -- you haven't lived like you think the world owes you a living. There are responsible citizens and there are leeches...you are certainly the former!

I totally agree with everyone's comments. You're a good person, you're not a slacker, and you have such a strong work ethic and good morals that anyone is stupid that thinks you're doing something wrong by continuing to collect unemployment. That person(s) isn't worth worrying about. But it's obvious that this person has struck a chord with you, because you've written about this on more than one occasion. If you were a slacker, this wouldn't bother you so much. Doesn't this person see that? You feel wrongly accused, and you are. I just hope that your accuser has to deal with this at some point in their life, so they can see what it's like on the other side of the fence, and maybe someday apologize for being so hard on you.

Lynnette, for the record, I have gotten grief directly and indirectly by/from three people. If there had been only one person, I probably would not have thought much about it. But three makes me think there have to be others out there who would agree with these three, though perhaps they would not say it to me!

Popular posts from this blog

Lately, I have had some anxiety. I have been waking up within an hour of when I fall asleep (partially because my bladder has its own timetable). And then I lie awake, worrying about various things. Mostly I worry that I am failing as a parent. I worry that I allow my child to be disrespectful to me more than she should. I worry that I am not forcing my shy child to do more things. And I worry that the few things I am pushing her to do will make her resent me. I worry that she gets stressed about school. I worry that she is bothered because she does not have a lot of friends. I worry because I don't know why that is.

I worry that we will be stuck in our house in our bad school district, a place where we would not send our child to high school when she graduates in two years (two years!). Then I worry that our somewhat introverted child will have to go to cyber school. Because there is just no way that we could afford to send her to Catholic high school, for which tuition is curren…

Last month while I was getting my driver's license picture taken, I tried to change my political party affiliation. For whatever reason, my choices were Democrat, Republican, Other, and None. But first, how I got there.

I registered as a Democrat when I first registered to vote, just before the '92 election. At that time, I was "kind of" liberal (for growing up in a somewhat rural area in western PA), and pretty much all of my relatives were registered that way, so it made sense. I was not really into politics at that young age, however.

As I got into my late 20s, I started to realize I was becoming more conservative, so a few years later, when it was time to renew my driver's license, I changed to Republican. I still remember the day at work when I told my coworker Anne that I was really a Republican. She told me she had known it for years. During the 2008 election, I was on board with John McCain running for president, mostly because I thought he was a good pe…

This past Monday afternoon I had my biopsy. Up until Sunday night, I was not worried. In fact, I was never really concerned about having cancer; it was the needle part that bothered me. As it turns out, there is more than a needle; there is an actual incision. So it was not surprising that I only got a few hours of sleep. But on a positive note, I cruised right down the Parkway that morning, being the Monday before the 4th, so there was that.

I got there at the prescribed 30 minutes ahead of time; in fact, it was probably close to 35 minutes! I had to wait about 10 minutes, during which I could feel my seat vibrate (still not sure about that; I was tired but I don't think I was imaging it). Then I went back, changed, and waited in the "gowned waiting area" for no more than 5 minutes. Not even enough time to find out whose twins Jennifer Garner was pregnant with! WARNING: What follows will be detailed, though not too graphic.

About Me

I am married with a middle-school-aged daughter. Professionally, I have been a teacher, an editor, a content specialist, and a project manager. Personally, I try to do the right thing.
I love the Pens, the Steelers, and Penn State, and I am a Pirates fan. I also cheer for Pitt.
I love the Burgh and hope to stay here until the bitter end (which hopefully won't be bitter at all).